A very rare cannibalistic T-Rex ants were found alive in their colony in northern Singapore. The discovery of the live colony of T-Rex ants was made by entomologists from the National University of Singapore.
Two entomologists from the National University of Singapore, Mark Wong and Gordon Yong have found the first ever live colony of T-Rex ants. They found the colony after digging the dirt in Singapore forest in Mandai area in March last year, as reported by Channel News Asia.
"The best way to collect and observe live ground ant colonies is to really get your hands dirty," Wong said regarding the discovery of the live colony of T-Rex ants. "By gradually excavating the soil from an area, layer by layer—sort of like an archaeologist.”
The discovery of the live colony of T-Rex ants has given hope for scientists to explore more about this mysterious ants. According to National Geographic, the ant was first discovered in 2003, when entomologist Fernando Fernández found a dead ants in Malaysia. He found that the ant show an unknown genus, which has never seen before. Fernández found the ant's tiny mandible resemble that of Tyrannosaurus Rex, hence the ant was named after the fierce dinosaur.
Wong, who is also a National Geographic Young Explorer, brought the ants in a petri-dish to study their diets. He found a surprising result, as the ants do not respond to any items of prey presented, they even eat the dead ants. The ants, which were taken from the live colony of T-Rex ants, seem to be very timid, unlike the name they bear.
The ants ran away when they encounter the insect, which supposed to be their prey. They also stay motionless when facing the unknown organism, and curled their head and gaster inwards and under their legs and mesothorax, as noted by Wong. This gave more mystery of the ants after the live colony of T-Rex ants was found.
